Folk duo Suthering have announced their arrival with a new single. PURCHASE GATHER HERE.
If the interweaved vocals, pure harmonies, and plaintive piano of new single ‘Gather’ from Devon-based folk-duo Suthering ring some familiar bells, it is because those voices belong to acclaimed composers, choir leaders, and songwriters Julu Irvine and Heg Brignall.
The duo, who have been captivating the scene with their fresh and feminist take on folk for several years, are stepping away from using their own names, and will now be releasing music as Suthering.
They discovered the term through the writing of Robert Macfarlane, whose book, Landmarks, references John Clare’s poem The Autumn Wind:
“The Autumn’s wind on suthering wings
Plays round the oak tree strong
And through the hawthorn hedges sings
The year’s departing song.”
It is a word meaning the noise of the wind through the leaves, or under a bird’s wings, and it seemed to them to communicate balance and flow, and a connection to nature, which, when combined with feminine strength, are the ethics and ethos that they build upon as people and musicians.
The name may have changed but the music remains as beguiling as ever. Recorded with Lukas Drinkwater at Polyphonic Recording, Gather is a stunning precursor to a full-length album to come later in the year, an album which showcases Suthering’s unique storytelling and recasting of traditional songs.
